


warm blood, underneath my skin

by harpydora, kismetNemesis



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Hieron Universe, M/M, Pre-Canon, to be clear these are blood-sucking vampires, vampire Fero
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-09-27 21:11:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20414377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harpydora/pseuds/harpydora, https://archiveofourown.org/users/kismetNemesis/pseuds/kismetNemesis
Summary: "Excuse me? You’re saying you’re a, a..." Lem kept his voice low so that it didn't carry across the commissary, but he couldn't keep the incredulity out of his words or off his face. His brow furrowed and he squinted as he searched Fero's face for some sign of him just pulling his leg.Fero crossed his arms over his chest, but he held Lem's gaze. "A vampire, yeah." His words were steady.





	warm blood, underneath my skin

**Author's Note:**

> Hieron needs more blood-sucking vampires and the fandom needs more Lem/Fero, so here we are. Many thanks to Arpad for the beta!
> 
> Title from "Warm Blood" by CRJ.

"Excuse me? You’re saying you’re a, a..." Lem kept his voice low so that it didn't carry across the commissary, but he couldn't keep the incredulity out of his words or off his face. His brow furrowed and he squinted as he searched Fero's face for some sign of him just pulling his leg. 

Fero crossed his arms over his chest, but he held Lem's gaze. "A vampire, yeah." His words were steady. 

"What does that mean?" said Lem faintly.

"It’s, you know. You’re smart, you can figure it out. Sucks blood, turns into a bat, et cetera. Okay, turning into a bat is something only I can do, but it’s funny, right?" Fero grinned at him, like he was _ proud _ of the fact that he claimed he did all of—well, all of the above.

"This is not funny, Fero?" Lem told him firmly. Surely Fero wasn't that committed to the ruse. "Vampires aren’t real. I don’t understand this joke."

"_I _ am real! Pinch me!" He held out his arm almost like an invitation. For a moment, Lem was tempted, but he couldn't quite find it in himself to use this as an excuse to…

He shook his head as if to clear it. "No, I mean. That’s not real or I would have read about it. The library has an extensive catalogue of knowledge."

Fero stuck out his tongue. "Pbbtthhhh. Not everything is in your books."

Lem ignored him, something niggling at the back of his mind. Something he'd read… "Oh, wait… I _ have _heard of such a thing."

"Yeah, from me, just now. You’re welcome." Fero said as he rolled his eyes. 

"No, no…" Lem waved his hand, not quite waving Fero away but waving away his words as he tried to chase down the memory. "It’s an ancient legend… of creatures who drain the life and emotional energy from those around them. Fascinating… we should go to the library."

"Lem, listen." Fero reached out and snatched Lem's still upraised hand, then pushed it until it rested flat against the table between them. The sudden contact made Lem's pulse jump. "I don't know what you’re talking about and it sounds stupid anyways. All I know is I really do have to drink people’s blood to live. Which sucks, but I get by. Isn’t a real person a better source of info?"

Lem nodded slowly. "A primary source, yes. If it were true."

"What do I have to do to prove it? Bite you?" The fierce look on Fero's face made something twist in the pit of Lem's stomach, and he felt his cheeks flushing for some reason. 

"No!" Lem blurted out. "No, gosh. You have to be the type of person who doesn’t constantly look for excuses to 'prank' me."

"You’re the worst," said Fero, rolling his eyes again. "Okay, have you ever seen me eat? Not even when you had that cake. That cake looked so good, _ ugh._"

"That’s a fair point…"

"Plus, um." Fero's voice goes quiet, conspiratorial. "There are all these guys that I have… stay over… it’s not for… it’s for blood."

For a moment, Lem was overcome by a stab of jealousy like a knife between his ribs. But the sensation subsided when Fero admitted his true intentions. "_Fero, _" Lem whispered. "That's…" That was what? Lem floundered, trying to find the words to express his jumbled thoughts, but Fero interrupted him.

"I ask them first, geez!" Indignation practically dripped from his words.

"How come you haven’t asked _ me?_" The question was out before Lem could even really consider the words, and there was no stopping the blood rushing to his cheeks. What had possessed him to give voice to _ that _ particular thought?

He let his eyes drop to where his hand still rested on the table, but he could still see Fero in the periphery of his vision; could still see his expression change to something he couldn't quite read. His cheeks were also colored, though whether from embarrassment, anger, or something else, Lem couldn't even begin to guess.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Fero snorted. "Why, you into that?"

"No! I mean…" Lem stammered. "I’m curious. Academically."

"Yeah, right, your precious 'primary source' stuff." Fero scoffed.

*

Lem approached Fero's cave, nerves making his stomach knot up with anxiety. What if this was just an elaborate ruse to get him to do… something. He couldn't quite think of what Fero might gain out of continuing to lie about this, but who knew with Fero? If nothing else, he might just be doing it to get a rise out of Lem.

When he spotted Fero at the entrance of his home, Lem said, "If this is a prank, it isn’t very clever."

Fero scowled. "It’s not a prank, dude, seriously."

Without waiting to see if Lem was behind him, he turned around and retreated into his cave. For a moment, Lem considered staying outside, but… Well, Fero _ sounded _ sincere. Steeling himself for the possibility of Fero just going "Gotcha!" he followed Fero inside.

Fero had already lit the oil lights by the time he reached the living room, and the light glinted off the geode interior to provide ample illumination. Nothing had changed since the last time he'd visited, which put Lem a little more at ease.

"You know," he said once he'd claimed a seat in a nearby chair. "If someone heard that I was going to your house to let you bite me, they might assume certain… things." He tried to make his tone light, teasing, but even to himself it just sounded anxious. He winced.

"What things?" Fero asked, obviously missing the humor that Lem failed to convey.

Lem's cheeks went warm, and he glanced away. "You know what I mean."

"Oh, that I’m a vampire." He nodded. "Yeah. Gotcha."

"Fero…"

Ignoring Lem's admonishment, Fero stood in front of Lem. "You ready to do this? Because you can chicken out, it’s fine."

"No! I mean, yes, I’m ready. Bite me." Lem closed his eyes and kept his hands curled into loose fists on his knees as he tried to ignore the heat in his face.

"Tell me where you want it first, idiot." Fero said, not quite snapping but obviously irritated.

Lem cracked open one eye to see Fero scowling at him again. He cleared his throat. "The wrist is probably fine? There’s veins and things."

Raising his eyebrows, Fero snagged one of Lem's hands off his knee and tugged it toward himself. He stood like that for a moment until Lem realized he was waiting for permission. "Yeah, go," he said.

Permission obtained, Fero wasted no more time. He pulled Lem's wrist up to his mouth and nuzzled at it for a moment as if trying to sniff out food. Which, if he were to be believed, he probably was. The sensation tickled; his nose was a little cold against Lem's skin, and he couldn't help but shiver. Just as he was _ sure _ this was all an elaborate prank, Fero sank his fangs—when had he gotten _ fangs?_—into the soft flesh of the inside of his wrist.

There was the briefest second of pain as Fero's fangs broke the skin, but a blooming warmth replaced it almost immediately. It traveled up his arm, carried by his blood vessels and suffusing every part of him after a few moments. He felt Fero working the wound with his mouth and tongue, drawing the blood out and letting this slowly building heat replace it.

When Fero's fangs broke his skin again, the warmth was chased by a jolt of pleasure that took him entirely off-guard. He had to bite down on his tongue to keep an undignified noise from escaping him, but he still ended up making a strangled noise deep in his throat. If Fero heard it, he gave no sign; his entire focus rested on Lem's wrist in his hands, in his mouth.

Finally, Fero pulled back. "Well?"

"Oh, wow. That does feel… wow. Okay. Interesting. I…" He paused, tried to catch his breath (when had he started to feel like he needed so much air?). "I need to write this down."

Fero rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Do you believe me _ now?_" Lem's eyes lingered on Fero's mouth as he spoke, realizing that there was a dark smear of blood on Fero’s chin. A not insubstantial part of him wanted to reach out and wipe it away with one thumb. He almost did, his hand lifting from Fero's grasp and pausing before he could actually touch Fero's face.

As if startled by the motion, Fero said, "Oh, shit, almost forgot—" He leaned forward and ran his tongue over the wounds he'd made in a slow, deliberate swipe that had all the residual heat left in Lem's body rushing to his face.

He tried to swallow but it didn't quite work. His throat had gone completely dry and it took several tries before he could get out any words. "The experience was fascinating. Yes, I believe you." 

"About time."

The ensuing silence hung thick between them for a few tense moments before Lem spoke again.

"Well, I should—I should take some notes. Excuse me." He reached into one of his pockets with shaking fingers and pulled out a scrap of paper and a pen that flowed with its own ink when turned just _ so. _ He had to get this all down.

"Ugh, you’re so boring." Fero threw up his hands and walked away. As Lem took down his notes, he saw Fero pace the living room from one end to the other twelve times—if only he had a pattern to work that involved halflings pacing—before he returned to Lem's side and poked him in the ribs.

Lem glanced up, full attention focusing back on Fero. "What?"

"Do you think, maybe… that we could do this again?" The words came out almost one on top of the other as Fero rushed to say them. "It’s just that it’s really hard to find someone I trust to do it regularly, and I need to eat, so…"

"Yes. After all, repetition is necessary for accurate observations." His own words came out too fast, too. Though, was it so bad to sound eager to take more measurements and make more notes? No, of course not. He had no reason to try to hide his enthusiasm for letting Fero bite him again.

"Thanks. I owe you one."

"You owe me several," Lem corrected. "You borrowed all that gold—"

"It wasn’t _ that _ much gold. And I’ll definitely pay you back. Anyways…" Fero rested one hand on his shoulder. "Thanks."

*

"Are you sure the ‘pattern’ really needs forty-seven leaves? That’s sooooo many." Fero trudged along through the forest at Lem's side, scuffing his feet in the dirt as he went. He kicked up a few leaves, but Lem had already investigated them and found them to be unfit for his purposes.

"It’s fifty-seven perfectly undisturbed fallen maple leaves," Lem corrected. He stooped to examine another leaf pile, but sighed when he turned up nothing. "And yes."

"This job sucks and I’m not even being paid for it."

Lem sighed again, but not at anything on the ground. Pushing himself back up to his feet, he said, "I didn’t ask you to come with me."

Fero waved off his words. "Whatever."

The trek continued well into midday, Lem occasionally making a gratified sound when he managed to pluck a pristine leaf from the forest floor and tuck it carefully into his pack. Fero's griping continued, but Lem thought it might be slightly less frequent. And besides, Fero managed to locate three leaves that Lem would have missed, so it wasn't as if Lem could complain about Fero when he was being so helpful.

Lem stood and dusted some of the dirt off his knees before turning to his companion. He opened his mouth to declare that they were going to stop so Lem could have lunch, when Fero's head snapped up and he grabbed Lem's arm."Oh shit. Lem!" he hissed, pointing off into the distance.

For a moment, Lem wasn't entirely certain what he was supposed to be looking for. Everything seemed perfectly fine—

Something moved in the distance, and he saw it: a cougar, hiding in the underbrush, ready to strike. It was close; how had it gotten so close without either of them noticing? But then it was a natural predator, of _ course _ it could get close to its prey without attracting unwanted attention.

"Hold on!" Lem whispered. Not taking his eyes off the cougar, he raised his arms and slowly reached into his pack. He'd brought the battered old violin he'd been learning to play recently, and if he could just get it out, maybe he could use it to weave a pattern that would scare the cougar off, or put it to sleep, or—

The cougar lunged forward, all of its barely contained lethality coming to bear as it angled its trajectory to take Lem to the ground. Time slowed down, and all Lem could do was watch with dawning horror as the cougar leaped through the air and closed the distance between them.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, another cougar barrelled into the first one and knocked it off-course. There was a rough patch of skin on one of its shoulders. It looked almost like stone—_Fero! _

Fero-as-a-cougar rolled with the real cougar as they wrestled with each other. It was difficult to follow the blur of razor-sharp claws and snapping teeth, but Lem still stared at them for a few seconds in both awe and fear.

A mighty yowl echoed through the trees, startling Lem back into action. He couldn't be sure which of the cougars had made the bloodcurdling sound, but either way: Fero was fighting a cougar to keep it from eating Lem, and he had to do _ something _ to help.

He extracted his violin from his pack and hastily settled it under his chin. He hadn't thought to pull out his bow, but that was fine. He could already feel the shape of the pattern in the back of his mind. All he needed was a few notes; not even a chord. Using his other hand, he plucked at the strings with his fingers.

The notes resonated with the nearby trees, causing them to hum for a split second before the sound rose to a terrifying pitch that soon passed out of his range of hearing. One of the cougars—the real one—yowled again and wrenched itself free of the other's claws. It had multiple gashes where Fero had gotten in some good shots, and it left a trail of blood as it fled.

"Fero! Are you alright?" Lem dropped the violin with a clatter and ran to where Fero laid, panting. As Lem neared him, all the fur seemed to run off him like water, leaving a halfling behind: battered, bloody, and all the worse for wear.

"M’fine," Fero mumbled. He tried to push himself into an upright position but yelped in pain and flopped back down on the dirt. "Actually, uh. Not doing great."

Panic began to take root in Lem's chest. "Oh, god, Fero, we’re so far out—I don’t know that I can carry you back in time—"

"No, no, hey," Fero said, his voice strained by pain but eerily calm. "It’s actually fine. I just need some blood. Your blood? Vampire perk. Um, quickly?"

"Yes! Yes, here." Lem knelt by Fero's side, heedless of the gore that would surely stain the knees of his trousers, and held out his arm.

Fero circled Lem’s wrist, his fingers cool and slick to the touch, and tugged. This had two effects: giving Fero the leverage he needed to bring himself into a sitting position and pulling Lem closer. Before Lem could do much more than make a startled, interrogatory noise, Fero tilted his head and sank his fangs into Lem's neck.

There was no momentary pain as Lem had come to expect from repeated observation of Fero's feedings, nor was there the familiar feeling of slow-blooming warmth. This time, he didn't even feel Fero's bite as anything more than twin points of heat that spread through him like a crashing wave. The sensation startled a gasp out of him.

His entire focus narrowed to Fero's mouth on his neck, to the way that Fero's mouth and throat worked to swallow his blood, to the sudden fire that roared beneath his skin, to the hazy feeling of pleasure that swaddled his brain. It was difficult to try to concentrate on anything else, was maddening to even try. So he didn't; just let himself drift into the feeling. Fero's fingers tightening around his wrist were the only thing keeping him grounded.

Lem wasn't sure how long they stayed that way, but Fero eventually pulled back and ran his tongue over the wounds to keep Lem from bleeding out. Lem almost made a dazed sort of disappointed sound, but he managed to reel it back in before he could give voice to it. Instead, he just blinked owlishly down at Fero.

"Sorry," Fero muttered, though for what Lem hadn't the foggiest idea.

"It’s quite alright," Lem said as he gathered his thoughts. "I’m just glad you’re okay."

"I’m so good." He tried to stand but winced again. "Oof. I’m not _ dying, _ at least. Help me up?"

Lem pushed himself to his feet then offered Fero a hand. When Fero took it this time, he didn't pull Lem down to meet him, merely used his support to stand himself. He still looked rough, but he was noticeably less torn to shreds. "Can—can you walk?"

Fero took a few experimental steps, then nodded. "Yeah."

They set off back toward the Archives, Fero stumbling every once in a while due to the remainder of his injuries, Lem stumbling every once in a while due to the blood loss. When the Archives were finally in sight, Lem turned back to Fero. "Thanks for saving me."

"I was saving me too."

"Still. You could have left me."

Fero shook his head. "No I couldn’t."

"Fero…"

"Shut up," Fero grumbled. "I’m in too much pain for this."

*

Lem got very good at shutting up.

It was a necessity when, the first time Lem offered up his wrist after the cougar incident, Fero just used it as leverage to pull Lem down to his level. Then without saying anything about it, Fero hooked his arms over Lem's shoulders and buried his face in Lem's neck. That was all the warning Lem received before Fero’s fangs had pierced his skin. 

He may have made a muffled noise of surprise, but he somehow managed to keep his composure as the first bloom of heat rushed out from where Fero had bitten. Just like before, pleasure followed the heat, setting all of his nerves alight and narrowing everything down to the way Fero clung to him and drew the blood from his neck.

His head spun, and not just from the blood loss.

The second time Lem fed Fero after the attack, Lem offered his wrist and couldn't tell whether he hoped Fero would take it or not. Fero went for the throat, and Lem knew his answer.

After that, Lem didn't even bother offering his wrist anymore.

They fell into a rhythm: every few days, Fero would show up at Lem's room, or Lem would show up at Fero's cave; Lem would sit down on the couch or on the bed or on a chair (just in case he got woozy, he said once); Fero would climb into his lap and then latch onto his neck.

It was a fine arrangement. Somehow the closeness of having Fero pressed against him while he fed made something bunch up in Lem's chest, but not in a bad way. He looked forward to their feedings, even outside of his desire to document the encounters. Eventually, he didn't bother documenting anything at all. He just felt things for the sake of feeling them, rather than cataloging them for a research project.

And this time, as he was feeling things, as he got settled and used to Fero's weight in his lap, he felt something different. Something cool brushed over the sensitive skin just below where his jaw met his neck, and it took him a moment to realize what it was: Fero was nuzzling at his neck.

It took all of his willpower to keep from making some sort of noise, but he still couldn't fight back the shiver that ran down his spine.

Fero paused and pulled back. "What's up?" he asked, voice shaky. Probably with hunger.

"Nothing! Nothing. Just…" Lem racked his brain to find an appropriate response that wouldn't make things awkward. "Just a sudden chill. It's nothing."

Fero shrugged. "Okay. Whatever." And like that, the subject was closed and Fero's fangs were buried in Lem's neck.

After that, Lem was grateful for the practice at keeping quiet. Especially when this, too, became a part of the routine.

It was a part he looked forward to, just like he looked forward to the weight of Fero in his lap, just like he looked forward to the hot rush of pleasure, just like he looked forward to Fero's mouth on his neck, just like—

Somewhere between the eleventh and twelfth feeding after the cougar attack, Lem realized exactly what that squirming feeling in his chest meant.

*

Fero climbed into his lap on the fifteenth feeding, settling his weight across Lem's thighs and wrapping his arms around Lem's neck. For his part, Lem had gotten very good at keeping his breathing under control while Fero got himself into the optimal position for feeding, though he still hadn't figured out how to keep his heart from pounding. If Fero noticed that in all the times he'd been feeding, he never said anything. 

Fero hitched himself up so his mouth was even with Lem's neck, tugged aside Lem's collar, and leaned down to press his nose to Lem's skin. Lem felt him brush his nose over the area, nuzzling it like he'd gotten into the habit of doing, but then something else grazed Lem's skin. Fero's lips. Not the prelude to a bite, not an accidental touch. It was an intentional motion, unmistakable. 

Fero had kissed his neck. 

The realization hit Lem like an anvil to the face, making his head spin and pulling a strangled groan from deep in the back of his throat before he could try to bite it back. His heart stopped when the sound reached his own ears.

"Uh," Fero said at the same time that Lem managed to squeak, "Ah—"

Lem recovered his vocal faculties first. "I’m so sorry, Fero, I—"

"Sorry, sorry, sorry, no, it’s fine, I just—" Fero stammered as he pushed himself out of Lem's lap. Before Lem could say anything else, Fero was a sparrow flapping his wings, and then he was gone through the window Lem had let him in through. 

Lem's chest tightened and a hard lump formed in his throat. Why did he have to go and screw things up like this? "God dammit," he swore into the silence left in Fero's wake.

*

Over the next few days, Lem barely saw Fero at all. He existed in only the barest glimpses out of the corner of Lem's eye, and even then Lem couldn't quite be sure that's what he saw. Did that bird have a rough, stony patch in its feathers? Was that a halfling he saw or just a short human visiting? 

One thing Lem knew for certain was that Fero must be starving. It was well past when their next feeding appointment would be, and Lem had barely seen Fero at all. He wasn't sure how long vampires could go between feedings, but he had enough data to estimate that Fero was rapidly approaching the point where it became unhealthy. 

(Of course, Lem couldn't help but remember what Fero had said at the beginning of all this. What he'd said about having a stable of people whom he fed off of regularly. He hated the way his gut tied itself into ugly knots at the thought. Shouldn't he be glad that Fero was potentially getting sustenance somehow? It would be better than Fero going hungry for this long… Wouldn't it?)

The situation was untenable. The tension grew more taut as the days turned into a week, two weeks, until it finally snapped. Lem couldn't stand it anymore. The whole thing was dumb. _ Fero _ was being dumb.

Two and a half weeks after 'the incident,' Lem marched up to Fero's cave at twilight, unannounced. It was, he figured, his best chance of catching Fero without giving him the chance to slip away.

He stared at the door for a moment, then squared his shoulders, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door. "I know you're in there," he called, even though that was a lie.

"Go away," he heard through the door. It wasn't a good sign, exactly, but he'd take it. Keeping his spine straight, Lem tried the doorknob. The door swung open, so Lem stepped through.

The interior of Fero's cave was dim. The oil lights hadn't been lit, so the only light came from the open door behind Lem. He could only barely make out Fero's form curled up on the couch. Even in the low light, Lem could see how miserable and wan Fero looked.

Softly, Lem said, "This has got to stop, Fero. It isn’t safe. You’re sulking over nothing." 

Fero shifted to look at Lem. His expression was a complicated thing that Lem couldn't quite decipher. "It wasn’t nothing," Fero said, "I was stupid."

"Fero, stop being silly. It wasn’t a big deal—"

Slower than he normally would be, Fero threw himself off the couch and bolted for the door. His form rippled in the way it did when Fero changed his shape, but the only thing that happened was him collapsing into a groaning heap on the floor. 

Lem stared at him wide-eyed for a moment in shock before he rushed to Fero's side. "Oh god! Fero!" Without hesitation, he grabbed Fero and hauled him up into his lap. One hand cradled the back of Fero's head and guided it to the crook of his neck. "Fero, you have to feed!" 

"M’fiiiine," Fero slurred. Lem’s heart leapt—at least he was talking to him.

"You _ must _ bite me."

Fero made a vague sort of noise that might have been an objection, but Lem tilted his head to the side to better expose his throat to Fero. Between what Lem hoped was an enticing gesture and the overwhelming hunger, Fero's resolve crumbled. His fangs sank into the flesh of Lem's neck, twin points of heat that radiated pleasure throughout Lem's body.

Somehow, Lem stifled the strained noise that tried to leave his throat, but it escaped when Fero bit him a second time. By the third time Fero's fangs pierced his flesh, Lem didn't bother trying to stop himself from moaning. The pleasure overwhelmed him and his own resolve crumbled. His fingers tangled in Fero's hair as Fero greedily bit him again. Distantly, he was thankful that he was already on the ground as he was sure his knees would have buckled by now. 

They stayed like that until Lem grew dizzy, nearly delirious from the amount of blood Fero had taken. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Fero pulled away and ran his tongue over the wounds he'd left to make sure they closed. Lem's brain was too fogged for him to even think about removing his hand from Fero's hair as he pulled back. Instead of getting off of Lem's lap, though, Fero just slumped forward again and buried his nose in the crook of Lem's neck.

Compared to the heat of the bites and his tongue, Fero's nose was frankly a little chilly. Lem shivered. "S'wrong?" Fero slurred with his face still pressed to Lem's neck. 

"Nothing, nothing!" Lem stammered, his fingers idly curling and uncurling in Fero's hair. "Er, I mean." He swallowed. Fero's proximity combined with the blood loss to make it hard to think. "Listen, I, I'm sorry," he finally said. "For making things so weird. But you have to promise me you won’t let anything like this happen again, Fero."

"_ You _ made it weird?" Fero's words were muffled but still intelligible. He huffed, his breath tickling the damp, sensitive skin next to his mouth. It felt like there was more he wanted to say, but he remained quiet.

The silence stretched between them, at once both strained and comfortable. Lem's relief was almost palpable: Fero had finally eaten and would be alright. But something else hung in the air, a sort of anticipation for the other shoe to drop.

Then he felt it, though Lem thought he imagined it at first. He couldn't forget the sensation of Fero's lips on his neck from two and a half weeks ago, had in fact spent more time thinking about it than he wanted to admit. But then he felt it again. "F-Fero?"

Fero made a vague noise of acknowledgement but didn't say anything in response. Lem took that as a sign to continue, so he did, "Fero, what are you doing?" His words were almost strangled in his confusion.

"Makin' things weird," Fero said, voice low and husky. Lem's breath hitched in his throat. He'd never heard Fero sound like this before, and he found he very much enjoyed it.

The next time Fero kissed Lem's neck, he let his teeth graze the already sensitive skin where he'd just fed. Then he bit down—not with fangs, only with his normal teeth—and Lem couldn't stifle his moan of pleasure.

Fero leaned back with a self-satisfied smirk on his face. "That's what I thought," he said, all smug satisfaction. Before Lem could formulate a response, however, he leaned in to capture Lem's mouth in a kiss.

It took a moment for Lem to realize what was happening. He had to first process how warm and soft Fero's lips were against his before he could respond. His hand was still in Fero's hair, and he let it slide lower to cup the base of Fero's skull as he kissed back.

Lem was too loopy and Fero too sated for it to be anything other than a slow and languorous thing. There was still a little blood on Fero's lips that lent the kiss a metallic tang that wasn't quite pleasant but wasn't quite unpleasant, either.

Finally, Lem had to come up for air. He gulped it down like a man drowning as he looked Fero over. His eyes were dark, pupils blown, and a flush rode high on his cheeks. The way he looked back was… In that moment, Lem didn't know how to describe it other than "hungry." He swallowed again. "Um."

"Yeah?" The smugness still hadn't left Fero's voice.

"The floor isn't, isn't that comfortable," Lem said.

"Oh. Yeah. Sorry." Fero shifted off Lem's lap and stood. "Um. The bed's probably not a great fit, but…" He trailed off, gesturing back towards his bedroom.

"Right, yes. Bed." The idea of standing and walking that far didn't much appeal to Lem, but the idea of continuing to kiss Fero and maybe do a little more definitely _ did. _ So, on unsteady legs, Lem also stood. He steadied himself with a hand on the nearby table until he felt confident that he could make it.

He'd been to Fero's plenty of times, but he'd never been in Fero's bedroom before. It was furnished plainly, like the rest of Fero's home, with a small nightstand next to a perfectly Fero-sized bed.

For his part, Fero grabbed Lem's hand and guided him to sit on the bed. As soon as Lem was settled, he climbed back into his lap, straddling his legs and resting his hands on Lem's waist. "This is waaay more comfortable than the floor," he said.

Lem mirrored Fero, putting his hands on Fero's waist before nodding. At least on the bed if he fell over he wouldn't knock his head on hard stone. Which… That might have been more likely than he'd have liked. The room swayed around him, and he had to tighten his grip on Fero to keep upright.

Fero took that as encouragement and he kissed Lem again. This time it was much more demanding, much more heated. He nipped playfully at Lem's bottom lip. Lem moaned into Fero's mouth; a part of him felt embarrassed that just a kiss would make him feel this way. But he pushed that aside as he tried to focus on how Fero's lips felt against his.

When they finally broke the kiss, Lem felt warm and lightheaded. "That was…"

"Yeah," Fero panted.

"Did you want to…?"

Fero nodded. "Yeah."

This time, the kiss was slower and more lazy. They both had a better idea of where they stood, so there was no need to rush it. And, unlike their first kiss, neither of them were quite so dazed. There were a few kisses like that before Lem finally broke away.

"I think I might, might need to lay down," he said slowly. His head buzzed and the room felt unsteady, and he was pretty sure it wasn't just from the elation of knowing that Fero returned his feelings.

"Yeah, you're not looking so hot there, buddy," Fero said as he leaned back to eye Lem up and down. He shifted himself so Lem could lay down and then flopped down on top of him. "You good like this?"

"Yes, I think so," Lem said. The bed was a tight fit and his legs dangled off the side, but it was far easier to exist on his back than sitting up. Fero's weight on his chest was a welcome anchor to keep him from floating away.

Fero scooted up so his head was almost level with Lem's. Then he buried his face in the crook of Lem's neck again. It was a welcome feeling, having Fero in that position, and Lem let out a contented sigh.

Things got a little muddled after that. It was easy to drift, even with Fero lying on top of him. He felt fairly certain that Fero lazily was kissing his neck again, had maybe even said a few words, but… It wasn't long until Lem slipped into unconsciousness.

*

When Lem awoke, he felt warm and could hear the sound of snoring right next to his ear. It took him a few moments of confused blinking to realize what was going on: he was staring at the ceiling of Fero's room and Fero was asleep on his chest. In his sleep, he'd fisted his hands in the front of Lem's shirt, as though he were trying to keep Lem from slipping away in the middle of the night.

Not that Lem would've. Blood loss aside, he had plenty of incentive to stick around. He stayed that way for a few moments before bringing one hand up to stroke Fero's hair. Fero stirred a little, then stilled, his snoring never stopping.

Eventually, though, the moment had to end. Lem shifted to get more comfortable and jostled Fero into wakefulness. Fero snorted as he jolted awake then made a fuzzy vocalization of confusion. "Muh?"

"Sorry, sorry," Lem said, keeping his voice quiet.

"Oh. Uh. Morning," Fero mumbled. He rubbed at his eyes with one hand. "Uh."

The silence that fell between them was heavy with what neither of them quite wanted to confront: the position they both found themselves in upon waking. Finally, Lem decided to speak.

"Fero, I—"

Cutting him off, Fero said, "Hey, Lem—"

Lem would have laughed if he hasn't felt the tenuous nature of the situation. Fero had a tendency to bolt when uncomfortable, and that could be disastrous given his previous behavior. Instead, he said, "Fero, I'm sorry for making things uncomfortable between us, but you have to promise me that you won't let things get that bad again." 

"Apology accepted," Fero said, but there was a hint of mischief in his voice now. "I won't let things get that bad again as long as you admit you liked it." 

"I didn't like seeing you like that!" Lem protested. 

Fero rolled his eyes. "I meant me kissing you, dumbass." 

Lem felt his cheeks heating up as he stammered, "Well. Yes. I thought it was clear how I felt about _ that. _"

Once again, a smug look settled on Fero's face. "Great. Now that we're on the same page…" He scooted up so his face was completely level with Lem's and kissed him again. 


End file.
